


Dream Me, Oh Dreamer

by banditess



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Daemon!Ardyn, Daemon!Luna, F/M, Implied Sexual Content, Lunafreya Having Agency Is A Kink, Minor Noctis Lucis Caelum/Lunafreya Nox Fleuret, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-23
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-02-19 03:00:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13114575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/banditess/pseuds/banditess
Summary: MAJOR SPOILERS for Chapter 9 and on of the main game.Lunafreya has been murdered by Chancellor Izunia, but finds herself in an odd position: She...can't die? It seems the Gods were less than forthcoming aboutallof the risks of being the Oracle, and now she's in quite a daemonic bind. Who better than Ardyn himself to show her the way through...





	Dream Me, Oh Dreamer

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jlavisant](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jlavisant/gifts).



> This fic was a long time coming. I started writing it in July but got stuck, so I put it away and promised myself I would come back to it. Then Episode Ignis came out and ~~straight up murdered us all~~ answered some questions, raised a hell of lot more questions, and also gave some more depth/context to the circumstances surrounding the events in Altissia. It seemed like the perfect time to get back to this with fresh eyes. (And since I was actually able to finish it, I guess it was, hahaha.)
> 
> Title is from the absolutely 100% amazing song ["Wolf Like Me" by TV On The Radio](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1-xRk6llh4), which you should add to your Ardyn playlists immediately if it isn't already there.
> 
> Anyway, please enjoy, and thank you all as always for reading, and for your comments, kudos, and love! It means the world to me. :)

“When the prophecy is fulfilled, all in thrall to darkness shall know peace,” Lunafreya says. She holds Ardyn's hand in hers, the fire of determination blazing in her eyes even as the blood seeps from the wound in her gut. It's a long shot, healing him with her powers, but she has to try.  
  
For a moment, she thinks she's reached him, or some part of him at least -- his mask cracks, and his features soften. But just as quickly, he rears back and strikes her, shaking her off of him like he is ridding himself of an insect on his sleeve. She hits the wet ground with a _smack_ , her blonde hair coming undone from its barrette in the midst of the gale.  
  
“How sweet,” he replies, stepping onto the drop-ship to make his escape. “But please, Lady Lunafreya -- you first.” He exits the fray with a smug expression.  
  
Later, Lunafreya will look back on this moment and wonder if it was because she was so focused on completing her life’s calling that she didn't notice the deeper implication of Ardyn’s words at that time -- that she, too, was in thrall to darkness.  
  
She turns her attention to Noctis, the Chosen King. Though she fails to heal Ardyn, she succeeds in helping Noctis forge the Covenant with Leviathan, and in getting the Ring to him. She says her goodbyes. To her beloved, to her brother. It's easier than she imagined. She supposes it's because she's known for some time that she would need to, much earlier than expected. Her body has been growing weaker with each Covenant forged. Not to mention the _unholy_ _headaches_ she has been getting recently, like the very Trident of Bahamut is being stabbed through her eye socket.  
  
Lunafreya lets go of this life, feels it drain away…  
  
Then, there is nothing. Just a void, like the dark of an unending night. Lunafreya begins to feel an uneasiness in the pit of her stomach. Something is wrong. The _Cosmogony_ clearly states that there is a Beyond to which people go when they die. But the Beyond is supposed to be... _nice_. A paradise. This isn’t right -- it _can’t_ be right. It was the only reason she felt at _peace_ with the idea of _dying_ \-- because she had faith that one day, once he had come to the end of his own journey, she would see Noctis again in the Beyond. She cannot imagine that _this_ is where they are supposed to reunite.  
  
She begins to run, but there is nothing on the horizon, in any direction. She calls out for Pryna, for Gentiana -- but there is no response. The uneasy feeling becomes a chill, as cold fear settles in. Lunafreya falls to her knees and does the first thing that comes to her mind: She closes her eyes and prays, to whomever will listen.  
  
 _Please, someone --_ anyone -- _help me...  
  
_ Luna feels a hand on her brow, brushing the hair from her face. But when she opens her eyes to see who has responded to her call, she is surprised to find that the black void still surrounds her. Then who--?  
  
“Oh dear. I _do_ apologize if I disturbed you. I merely came to assist. The first death _is_ the hardest.”  
  
The deep, drawling voice, whispering in her ear, sends a shiver up her spine. As her eyes adjust to the darkness, she perceives the outline of the tall man -- with his messy auburn hair and his long black coat -- squatting beside her.  
  
“Chancellor Izunia...?”  
  
“Indeed. But please, call me Ardyn. You are no longer a hostage of Niflheim, you owe me no deference.”  
  
“I...I don't understand. You stabbed me in the stomach. I _died_.”  
  
He smiles cruelly, “Oh yes. Your part in the Prince’s tale was over, you see, and I couldn’t have him _distracted_ from his goal. So the _official_ story is that your body was _lost beneath the waves_ \-- or at least, that’s what I told them, so that is what the news has been broadcasting. Poor Lady Lunafreya. Died in an accident during the summoning of the Astral Leviathan. She has departed from this world and gone to the Beyond to be with the gods she served -- but alas, the only complication is the daemons coursing through your veins, naturally.”  
  
Luna’s body tenses. “What do you mean?”  
  
“Why, didn’t your _friends_ the Astrals _inform you_ when you became the Oracle?” Ardyn laughs ruefully. “If you have been corrupted by daemons, you will be considered _unfit_ to enter the Beyond.”  
  
 _Unfit to enter the Beyond_ … Luna recalls the feeling of her lifeforce slipping from her like the grains running out of an hourglass, and then the featureless void she found herself in. Could it be true? Was she barred from the afterlife? But how would she have become corrupted?  
  
She narrows her eyes and frowns at him. “How do you know this?”  
  
Ardyn laughs. “Don't be _dull_ , Lunafreya. You know _what I am_ \-- more than that, you know _who I am_ , or rather _who I was_ ,” He stands up and moves back a few paces, then summons forth his Armiger, lighting the space around them in a bright magenta glow.  
  
Lunafreya’s expression remains unchanged, unphased by his display. She does know his secret heritage, has _always_ known, ever since she was just a young girl. The Gods had chosen her to be their representative, and as part of her initiation Umbra had shown her visions of the history of Eos. She has seen Ardyn’s meteoric rise -- and his fall from grace.  
  
“...And why should I believe the man who just _put a knife in me_ knows anything about what is happening here?”  
  
The weapons revolve around him slowly as he speaks. He smirks. “I understand how difficult it is to be faced with the possibility that your _gods_ have abandoned you. But why should I be dishonest with you? If my aim were power itself, would I not have taken the Ring from you when I had the chance? Why would I have allowed you -- nay, _asked you_ \-- to deliver it to His Highness?”  
  
Lunafreya crosses her arms, her brow furrowed with frustration. “Why don’t _you_ tell _me_?”  
  
“As you are no doubt aware, I was once the Savior of Lucis -- healing the people of the Starscourge, as you did. That was before what was rightfully mine was _stolen_ from me, and I became what you call _the Accursed_. Tell me, Lunafreya, has your _head_ been hurting recently?”  
  
She blinks. “How did you…”  
  
He taps against his own forehead. “Early warning signs of daemon infection. Listen to me, Oracle -- I _know_ the price of the Covenant. Making deals with the gods comes at great cost. The act of calling the Astrals degrades your body too much to stave off the Scourge with your power.”  
  
Ah, so _that_ must be how it happened to her. Forming the Covenants compromised her immune system, and she became infected when she healed others as she traveled.  
  
“But...if I cannot... _move on_ to the Beyond,” she says, “then I truly cannot die?”  
  
“Such is our blessing and our curse,” Ardyn shrugs, looking smug.  
  
“Then if I am _immortal_ ,” she whispers the word like it’s a secret, “I would be an asset to Noctis on his journey -- I could help protect him-”  
  
Ardyn shakes his head slowly. “You cannot be with him as you are now.” He dismisses the Armiger, then kneels by Luna’s side. “Lady Lunafreya, you have lived your whole life under the watchful eye of the Empire, giving so much of yourself for others -- have you ever stopped to consider what it might be like to live your life completely for _yourself_ , for a change?”  
  
“As long as I can still move, and the Prophecy still stands, I must do what I can to help fulfill it,” she says confidently. “The Scourge must be cleansed from Eos, for good.”  
  
He scoffs at her. “You would _continue_ on the path the gods set before you, though they _abandoned_ you in your time of greatest need? You would help the world that used you as a tool for its own ends until it -- quite literally -- drained the life from you?”  
  
Her gaze is unwavering when she answers: “ _Yes_.”  
  
Ardyn’s mischievous smile in response is not what she was expecting. “Well, well. I believe we may be of some _mutual assistance_ to one another, then, my Lady. Ours goals are not _incompatible_ , you see. You’ll even get to help your dear Noctis, in the end. But I am afraid you’re not going to like the part that comes next.”  
  
He stands, and offers her his hand. Luna takes it, brushing off her knees as she allows him to help her up. She starts to lower her hand, but rather than let her have it back he instead pulls her to him, wrapping an arm tightly around her waist. Luna starts to struggle against him, but suddenly she notices the sound of waves crashing where previously there had been _no sounds at all_. She peers around.  
  
The black void is gone, replaced by a stone chamber. Or the ruins of one, anyway -- crumbling pillars and a structure that looks like it may have once been a throne loom ominously at the back of the cavernous room. A slit of a window lets in a sliver of moonlight.  
  
“Look at me, Lunafreya.”  
  
Ardyn’s voice is commanding, and she feels compelled to obey. Her stomach nearly turns completely upside-down as she meets his gaze. The whites of his eyes are pitch-black, and his usual amber irises have taken on an even richer hue that have consumed his pupils entirely. A black oil seeps from his eyes, dripping from his mouth. Luna can see it pulsing along in his veins -- _Astrals Almighty, how many daemons_ …? _How much suffering_? She can’t help it -- she begins to weep.  
  
Ardyn smirks at her. “There, there, my dear.” He wipes a tear from her face. “But the part I mentioned you weren’t going to like...is that you’re not looking so good _yourself_ , my Lady.”  
  
He gestures towards a shallow pool of water beneath the slit in the stone wall, where rainwater has come in and collected. Luna hesitates, uncertain. He nods to her when she looks back at him, his eyes glowing in the dark like two candles. Slowly, she leans over the water. Her reflection looks back at her, but what she sees is _troubling_ indeed, although of course she should have known it was coming -- she was infected, too, after all. The whites of her eyes are black as the night sky, and her irises, although still mostly blue for the moment, are becoming golden. The porcelain-pale skin of her neck shows black veins clear as day.  
  
Luna pulls back from the water and turns away from Ardyn, towards the back of the chamber. Momentarily, she puts her face in her hands, taking a few seconds to collect herself. She takes a deep breath, calming herself, then turns back around.  
  
“Well, considering I had thought I was _dead_ , this is actually _less_ of a setback to fulfilling the Prophecy,” she says, lacing her hands together in front of her. “Now, what is my next step?”  
  
Ardyn laughs, until he is wiping tears from his eyes (or is that daemon oil?). “Goodness, but you are determined! I asked myself the same thing, when I sat here in this place many centuries ago, undergoing the transformation you yourself are about to endure.”  
  
“And?”  
  
Ardyn picks up a pair of shackles attached to the floor in front of the stone throne. “You must let the process complete. There is no returning to the Lunafreya you once were.”  
  
“Are the shackles necessary?”  
  
He answers without hesitation, “They are so that you do not run into the sea and drown yourself to stop the suffering, only to wake up alive again washed up on the shore of Galdin Quay, looking as you do. Believe me, you will wish to try -- but do you _really_ want the people of Eos to know that their beloved Oracle has become the _very thing_ she was meant to save them from?”  
  
Luna considers this a moment, then gets up and sits quietly in the ruined throne. It was clearly meant for someone much larger than her, and it engulfs her slight form as she sits on the edge of the seat. She frowns as Ardyn kneels before her, clamping the shackles on each of her ankles.  
  
“Now then,” he says, brushing her cheek with the back of his hand, “As I am still the Chancellor of Niflheim, I do have some things to attend to, so I am afraid that I cannot be here at all times. But I shan’t leave you _totally_ alone. Not like the _Lucians_ and the _Astrals_ did to _me_. I swear to you that I will return as soon as possible.”  
  
Ardyn begins to leave the chamber, but turns back around before he’s halfway out of the room. He calls out to her from the passageway.  
  
“One last word of advice, Lady Lunafreya! They seem to enjoy a good song -- try singing, if it gets to be unbearable.”  
  
“I...I’ll do that, thank you,” she says. He nods to her and exits through a door carved into the stone wall, disappearing into the night.  
  
Although at first she’s not sure who he meant by “they,” it hits her like a punch to the gut: he must have meant the _daemons_ _themselves_. She shudders at the thought, and feels slightly sick knowing that they’re in her blood. As the waves crash along the shore outside, she’s suddenly aware that she’s technically less alone than she’s ever been in her life, and yet the most alone she will ever be.  
  
  
\-------  
  
  
Settling in on the first night, Lunafreya isn’t sure what to expect. As the moon begins to sink below the window, her head starts to ache again, like a halo of pain gripping her skull. Shortly after, her vision begins to cloud and swim. Sweat drips from her brow, and she is glad that at least her hands are not shackled so that she can rip part of her dress to make a handkerchief out of it. Groaning loudly, she realizes she must have spiked a fever -- it feels like a fire in her bones, combined with ice in her veins.  
  
So _this_ is daemonification.  
  
After a few hours of rocking back and forth, her head feeling like a bomb in the middle of slowly exploding, Luna finds herself wishing for someone, anyone to talk to. Anything for a distraction from the pain. As she thinks it, she remembers something Ardyn said:  
  
 _I shan’t leave you totally alone. Not like the Lucians and the Astrals did to me.  
  
_ Did they seriously leave Ardyn here in chains, in _pain_ , completely isolated? She thinks she truly understands now how he became the way he is…and she recalls that he advised her to sing when it got to be too much.  
  
She quietly hums a lullaby her mother used to sing for her and her brother, when Tenebrae was still a free land…  
  
“Oh, _Ravus_ ,” she says, tears falling on her cheeks as she realizes that even her own brother will not -- _cannot_ \-- know what has befallen her.  
  
  
\-------  
  
  
When Ardyn returns some time later -- she can’t be sure how long it’s been, as her fever has reached a point where she’s not sure whether the minutes are actually minutes, or _hours_ , or _days_ \-- Luna is slumped forward, still humming.  
  
Ardyn puts down the cloth sack he’s carrying, takes out a few items and arranges them nearby. Standing beside the throne, he tips up her chin, turning her face towards him. She is glad for the touch, even though it feels like pins and needles on her skin.  
  
“You came back.” Her voice is hoarse.  
  
“Did you not expect that I would? Why, Lady Lunafreya, you _wound_ me,” Ardyn replies playfully as he examines her eyes in the moonlight. Her pupils are all but gone now, replaced by gold.  
  
She leans into Ardyn’s hand as his thumb grazes her flushed cheek. Reaching over, he retrieves a washcloth from his bag and dips it in the bowl of water he’s set up. Ardyn brushes his thumb along her lips, opening her mouth ever so slightly, letting the water drip slowly from the cloth and onto her lips. The sensation of the cool water trickling into her mouth feels _incredible_ , every part of her wants _more_. Luna reaches out and weakly grasps Ardyn’s coat lapels with her hands, groaning.  
  
“I know, truly I do, but I am afraid you have to take it slow,” he says, continuing to feed her water as she licks it from her lips. “Remember, you don’t even _need_ this to _live_ , now -- ‘tis only your body’s instincts giving one final kick.”  
  
Lunafreya hears what he’s saying, but she isn’t _listening_ , all she knows is she _wants more_. She reaches out and snatches the cloth from Ardyn’s hand, leaving him wide-eyed. Leaning back, she wrings it out over her face.  
  
“Ardyn…how much _longer_ …”  
  
He takes the cloth from her and wipes her face with care, moving the hair out of her eyes. “From the looks of you, perhaps another few days. It must take its course.”  
  
“I am _burning up_ , Ardyn,” she whimpers.  
  
He frowns as he packs up his accoutrements. “I _did_ warn you about wishing to jump into the sea.”  
  
She looks down at the shackles binding her legs and slouches in the seat. The hem of her dress catches on the edge of the stone, pulling it higher up her thighs. She couldn’t care less about modesty at this point -- the more of her skin is exposed to the air, the cooler it is. As a matter of fact…  
  
Ardyn turns around to find Lunafreya slinking her arms out of the shoulder-straps of her white dress. He sighs heavily and reaches out to push her shoulder-strap back up.  
  
“There’s no need for that.”  
  
He squats down and unlocks her shackles, pocketing the key in his long coat. As he stands, he slides one arm beneath her legs, placing the other under her waist. Instinctively, she throws her arms around his neck and holds tight as he picks her up.  
  
Ardyn carries her out of the stone chamber and into the night air. The breeze is cool and tinged with salt. Luna thinks she’s never felt anything more wonderful in her entire life -- well, _afterlife_ , anyway, and it’s so refreshing that she would have been happy enough to just stay right there. But Ardyn, never one to do things by halves, keeps going. He carries her right up to the shore, where he hesitates for but a moment before walking straight into the ocean, fully-clothed, with Lunafreya -- also in full dress -- in his arms.  
  
“I thought you said I wasn’t _allowed_ to run into the sea!” Luna says as she paddles in the waves.  
  
“Certainly not by _yourself_! But with a _qualified chaperone_ , I could see no reason to deny you a dip in the cool waters…”  
  
She still feels _hot_ , as though she is lying beneath the sun at noontime and not immersed in the water at midnight, but this is better -- she feels some of her energy returning. Ardyn watches her carefully as she backstrokes her way around. As she floats on her back with the waxing gibbous moon overhead, the water lapping at her ears, something occurs to her.  
  
“Ardyn, we’re outside at night.”  
  
“Yes, indeed.”  
  
“And...we’re not at a Haven, or in a town…and we’re not being beset by daemons.”  
  
“Well, Lunafreya, there are _some_ benefits to being Accursed, as we are. One of which, as you have noticed, is _free reign_ of the night.”  
  
 _Free reign_. When did she ever have _that_ , in life?  
  
About ten minutes is enough to satiate her, and she swims back towards Ardyn so that he can guide her back to the stone chamber. As they haul themselves onto shore, he pulls off his sopping-wet coat and tosses it over his shoulder to make it easier to walk. Removing his coat, however, does nothing for what must be the gallon of water in his boots -- Luna can hear the _squish_ and _slosh_ of the liquid against leather with each step.  
  
As they re-enter the chamber, Ardyn bows slightly to her, allowing her to go first. He tosses his coat over a toppled pillar, then retrieves his bag from the back of the room and pulls out a small, round flask. It gives off a slight red glow. Ardyn looks around the room and, apparently not finding what he is looking for, quickly ducks outside. He returns bearing an armful of plant detritus, though only the Gods know where he picked it all up from.  
  
In a far corner of the room is a large, battered metal bowl that appears it might have been used for ritual purposes in some long forgotten age. Ardyn dumps the branches and twigs into it, then underhand tosses the small flask on top. The plant matter immediately lights up in flames, and Luna realizes with a start what the flask was -- _Elemancy_. More proof of Ardyn’s royal pedigree.  
  
He brings his coat closer and spreads it out on a pillar by the fire. “Not that either of us would die of exposure without warmth, only that it will look _suspicious_ should I return to Gralea... _dripping_.”  
  
Ardyn loosens his boots and carefully takes them off, frowning with distaste as water cascades out. He sets each one out by the fire to dry. He removes his vests for drying as well, but keeps his other clothing on. Sighing deeply, he takes a seat against the wall, close to the fire, his wet trousers clinging tightly to his slim legs.  
  
Luna’s long hair drips onto the floor as she watches him, his amber eyes reflecting the flames. Her dress is damp, but she doesn't notice. She can't stop thinking about _freedom_. About looking up at the stars and knowing that she has the power to walk beneath them without care.  
  
Of course, she will still carry on with the Prophecy. For the good of the people of Eos, the Accursed-- ... _she and Ardyn_ must be laid to rest.  
  
But perhaps, just for tonight, she can allow herself to savor this freedom.  
  
Lunafreya removes her shoes, as though she is stepping upon hallowed ground, and places them beside Ardyn’s to dry. She approaches him meekly, reverently -- an Oracle come to greet a King. He eyes her curiously as she encircles his neck with her arms, then cracks a smile as she proceeds to pull herself onto his lap. He opens his mouth to make some witty remark, but she places a single finger to his lips to quiet him. Some forms of worship do not require words.  
  
What transpires between them is surprisingly human, considering _they_ are not human. Not anymore. At first, Lunafreya is not sure that he wants her. He is hesitant, keeping his hands to himself as she leaves kisses up and down his neck. She is beginning to think that perhaps she miscalculated. Perhaps she should have let him speak before. Would he have told her to save her energy? That she was not his type?  
  
But then she sees the black clouds swim across the whites of his eyes, sees his amber irises turn to luminescent gold. The moon is high in the narrow window, casting just enough light so she can see her own black sclera reflected in his eyes. His roguish grin turns suddenly feral as he grips her waist hard enough to put holes in the fabric of her dress. And then, there is no going back -- for either of them.  
  
  
\-------  
  
  
Ardyn brushes the hair from Luna’s face as she smiles up at him from her place in his lap. The throne in the Citadel of Insomnia is not meant to seat two, but in the past ten years they have found many ways to __make do.  
  
Luna can feel Ardyn’s growing exhaustion with each passing day, though after two thousand years he hides it well. He is ready to be released from this life. It has only been a single decade for Luna of daemons whispering in her ears, tormenting her with nightmares and waking terrors, and she is just as ready as Ardyn to put an end to the Crystal, the daemons, all of it.  
  
She only wishes that she could take on the burden of sacrifice instead of Noctis. Although, in a way, she feels she already has.  
  
Lunafreya senses Noctis coming, feels him approaching the Citadel hours before he sets foot in the throne room. It’s been ten long years, and his arrival in Insomnia marks the beginning of the end. Dawn will be breaking before long.  
  
Soon, all in thrall to darkness shall know peace. Herself among them.


End file.
